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General Information

On this page, we present the viable talent choices for playing Genji
in a competitive environment in Heroes of the Storm.
For each talent, we explain what they do and why they should or should not be taken.

The other pages of our Genji guide can be accessed
from the table of contents on the right.

About the Author

KendricSwissh is a Master League Warrior and Support player in Hero League. He has been playing Heroes of the Storm since the early stages of the Alpha version and has mastered a large number of Heroes. He is also creating Heroes of the Storm related content on YouTube, most notably his series called Epic Plays of the Week, which focuses on video clips submitted by his viewers. He is also a streamer on Twitch where he will gladly answer all of your questions about the game.

2. Common Talent Paths

The Shuriken Build is a very safe Build that combines strong
poke granted thanks to
Shuriken Mastery at Level 4, while
X-Strike also allows Genji to close the gap and strike
enemies from melee range. Several Deflect-related
talents like Perfect Defense and, more importantly,
Zanshin, allow for aggressive gameplay to finish off
targets in close combat.

The Swift Strike Build is a high skill-cap Build that focuses on Genji
slicing and dicing his way through the enemy team, aiming to get as many
cooldown resets and Mana cost refunds on Swift Strike as
possible. Timing is crucial when playing this Build, as Genji needs to make
sure to quickly execute an individual target in order to get his combo rolling.
Activating Dragonblade shortly after using
Swift Strike usually allows Genji to deal a heavy amount
of burst damage. However, remember that he is still very susceptible to enemy
Stuns and Roots, as they can completely shut down his momentum. Consequently,
wait until some of those crowd control abilities have been used before
recklessly diving deep into the enemy lines.

3.1. Discussion

Swift as the Wind is our recommended talent at Level 1
because it is the safest to get value from. Hitting an enemy Hero with
Swift Strike will happen a lot during the game, whereas
the other two talents can be considered situational at best.

Agile Dismount allows Genji to engage from a larger
distance while mounted. This can be used offensively to chase down retreating targets or
defensively to escape pursuing enemies.

Pathfinder requires Genji to use
Cyber Agility in order to jump over terrain, which is a
requirement he cannot always meet. Consequently, this talent will likely end up
being rather unimportant.

Enemies hit by the end of Swift Strike take an additional 138(+4% per level) damage over 2 seconds.

✘

Dragon Claw(Level 4)Genji

After Genji blocks 330(+4% per level) damage with Deflect, activate to release a Dragon Claw, dealing 190(+4% per level) damage to all nearby enemies.

4.1. Discussion

Shuriken Mastery provides Genji with stronger
poke the more targets he hits throughout the game. This
talent will accumulate a lot of extra damage from a safe distance and should
usually be completed relatively quickly, which makes it a solid choice.

Dragon Claw usually takes too long to charge up and
offers too little damage to make it worth picking.

5. Level 7 Talents

✘

Augmented Guard(Level 7)Genji

When Deflect ends, Genji gains a Shield equal to 50% of the damage blocked for 4 seconds.

✔

Perfect Defense(Level 7)Genji

Deflected damage reduces the cooldown of Deflect by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of 10 seconds.

?

Cyber Shield(Level 7)Genji

Using Cyber Agility grants 50 Spell Armor for 2.5 seconds.

?

Dodge(Level 7)Genji

Genji dodges 1 Heroic Basic Attack every 8 seconds.

5.1. Discussion

Perfect Defense reduces the cooldown of
Deflect, which is Genji's only defensive tool and as
such which is crucial to his survival during team fights. We cannot stress
enough how important this talent is, especially if you aim to play Genji in a
very aggressive manner.

Cyber Shield can be worth picking if the enemy team
solely relies on Ability damage by picking Heroes like Jaina, Kael'thas, or Ragnaros. It is worth mentioning that
Cyber Shield can be activated twice if you pick
Double Jump at Level 13.

Dodge can be a solid talent if the enemy team
consists mainly of Basic Attack-dependent Assassins, such as Illidan or Valla.

Augmented Guard provides a shield that further
protects Genji. However, this talent will usually have less value than
Perfect Defense, as the cooldown reduction on
Deflect prevents more damage.

6. Level 10 Talents

✔

Dragonblade(Level 10)Genji

Mana: 75

Cooldown: 100 seconds

Unleash the Dragonblade for 8 seconds. While active, Dragonblade can be reactivated to lunge forward and slash in a huge arc, dealing 220(+4% per level) damage. If enemy Heroes are killed within 2 seconds of being hit by Dragonblade, Swift Strike's cooldown is reset.

✔

X-Strike(Level 10)Genji

Mana: 90

Cooldown: 80 seconds

Perform two slashes dealing 135(+4% per level) damage. The slashes detonate after 1.25 seconds causing an additional 270(+4% per level) damage to enemies in their area.

6.1. Discussion

At this level, Heroic Abilities become available. Both Heroic Abilities have
already been described in the Abilities
section.

Dragonblade turns Genji into a highly mobile and
lethal melee Assassin. Keep in mind that Shuriken
cannot be used while Dragonblade is active. It is usually a good idea to
activate Dragonblade as soon as you spot a severely wounded enemy Hero at the
brink of death. Taking this target down while Dragonblade is still active will
cause Swift Strike's cooldown to be reset and its Mana
cost to be refunded, which allows Genji to quickly dash to the next target.
Always make sure to focus on the lowest health target around in order to
guarantee reset after reset.

X-Strike is a useful gap-closing Heroic Ability with a strong damage component. While it may be
harder to execute than Dragonblade, X-Strike can act as
an escape mechanism that allows Genji to dodge incoming burst damage and crowd
control only to strike back a few moments later. Keep in mind that X-Strike can
be used to cover short distances in order to jump over impassable terrain, for
instance.

7. Level 13 Talents

✔

Shingan(Level 13)Genji

Hitting an enemy with all 3 Shuriken deals 115(+4% per level) bonus damage.

✔

Flow Like Water(Level 13)Genji

Each enemy Hero hit with Swift Strike reduces its cooldown by 3 seconds.

✔

Double Jump(Level 13)Genji

Cyber Agility stores 2 charges but its cooldown is increased by 5 seconds.

7.1. Discussion

Shingan is worth considering if you chose
Shuriken Mastery at Level 4. Admittedly, it is hard to
hit a single target with all three Shuriken projectiles, however, if
successfully executed, Shingan will deal an outstanding amount of bonus damage.
Keep in mind that you should never jump into a team aggressively in order to
hit targets from point blank range just to proc Shingan's bonus effect damage.
Instead, wait for your targets to drop low in health and use Shingan to execute
them while they are on the retreat.

Double Jump has strong synergy with
Cyber Shield at Level 7, as it grants Genji two charges
of Ability damage reduction. Double Jump is a useful talent if get the feeling
that you need to rely on additional ability more than dealing extra damage.

8. Level 16 Talents

✔

Reflect(Level 16)Genji

Deflect also deals an additional 33% of the damage blocked.

✔

Final Cut(Level 16)Genji

After 1 second, Swift Strike deals an additional 125(+4% per level) damage to all enemies in the area.

✘

Steady Blade(Level 16)Genji

Each enemy Hero hit by Swift Strike increases the damage of the next Swift Strike by 20%. This bonus stacks up to 3 times.

8.1. Discussion

Final Cut's 1-second time window proves to be short
enough to provide a reliable source of extra damage. After unlocking
a cooldown reset for Swift Strike, Final Cut can be an extremely
strong damage tool.

Steady Blade requires Genji to consistently hit enemy Heroes,
which is a requirement that cannot always be met. As such, we consider this talent a riskier to
get value from than Final Cut.

9. Level 20 Talents

✔

The Dragon Becomes Me(Level 20)Genji

Each time Dragonblade hits an enemy Hero, the duration of Dragonblade is increased by 0.5 seconds.

9.1. Discussion

The Dragon Becomes Me is a strong upgrade after picking
Dragonblade at Level 10. By hitting multiple enemy
Heroes at the same time, Dragonblade's duration can be extended significantly,
which increases Genji's chances of resetting
Swift Strike's cooldown. It is worth mentioning that
this talent gains a lot of value if the enemy team composition features a lot
of melee Heroes who tend to clump and thus get hit more easily by
Dragonblade.

Zanshin finalizes Genjis ultimate defense after
completing the Quest talent bonus. This talent allows Genji to deal heavy
damage to all nearby enemy Heroes at the same time, which becomes particularly
powerful with the cooldown reduction Perfect Defense at
Level 7 provides you with.

Living Weapon is a bit of risky talent to pick at
Level 20, as it fully relies on X-Strike to hit several
enemy Heroes in order to get any value from it. While a full cooldown-reset may happen
every once in a while, we do not recommend picking such a chancy talent over
Zanshin, which is a lot more reliable.